This year, surfing becomes an official Olympics sport. To many, it is also a way of life. But is it art? New York-based artist Mr Daniel Arsham puts a compelling argument forward in his latest new project, “Wave Relic”, which turns the humble surfboard into an art gallery worthy sculpture.

The clear resin surfboard sculpture, which was first revealed at Arsham’s pop-up exhibition The House at Selfridges in London in late 2019, is not, however, suitable for catching a wave. But it did mark the first fruits of a collaboration between the artist, Mr Hayden Cox, founder the Australian surfboard brand Haydenshapes, and Mr Chris Stamp, creative director of Californian menswear brand Stampd.

As well as the surfboard sculpture, Wave Relic has also produced a broader collection of uniquely designed and fully functional boards, alongside a capsule of basics that riff on the ideas borne of this project from three different design backgrounds across art, surf and style. In addition to the surfboard-as-sculpture, Wave Relic is about art you can actually use. A highlight is the functional crystallising “Eroded Surfboard”, inspired by Arsham’s work, featuring hollowed out sections. Finished with a clear fibreglass shell, it is, as Arsham puts it, a future relic of the present.

“Essentially, it’s decaying from within,” Cox says of the concept, which sold out on a limited edition of 500 in April – an additional limited run is now available on MR PORTER. “To hold it and surf it, it’s much like a normal board,” he says. “But like most good things, a little more delicate.”

It took two years of multiple prototypes to arrive at the finished product. But Cox relished the opportunity to collaborate with Arsham. “Daniel has created such a strong visual language that I have long admired and having the opportunity to work with him directly on translating that into not only a functional art piece surfboard, but quite a complex resin surfboard sculpture, was a fun challenge.”

Arsham, who is well versed in cross-discipline collaboration, having previously worked with Dior, RIMOWA and Mr Pharrell Williams, also talks of this project in terms of fun. “Since connecting with Hayden, I’ve had a unique opportunity to learn more about the sport from the core category level, but also had insight to the modern and innovative lens that Hayden brings to it,” he says. “There are a lot of parallels between the work of Hayden, Chris and myself and how we approach what we do. It’s been one of those fun projects that has kind of just evolved on its own.”

The final evolution of Wave Relic saw Chris Stamp come on board. He designed a collection of elevated surf wear that riffed on some of the ideas that the collaboration surfaced. The Wave Relic T-shirts and sweats illustrate wave theory and map out some of the technical aspects of the eroded surfboards.

“With this collection, we tried to interpret the dimensional aspect of Daniel’s erosion work with the high and low application of the embroidery elements on certain pieces,” explains Stamp. “You end up designing in a way that you initially didn’t think would be possible.”

That sense of possibility is shared by all three creators. “It’s a genuine blend of different skills that we each have coming together to create things that we all mutually appreciate and are interested in,” adds Cox, who was particularly pleased to see surfers Mr Craig Anderson and Ms Stephanie Gilmore surf the Haydenshapes X Arsham board in the way the creators have hoped possible.

“It’s those types of moments as a shaper that you visualise at the very beginning, before you even start on an idea, that really motivates you to get to the finish line,” Cox says. “Even if you fail over and over again before you get there.”